CHENNAI, Sept 28: The Madras High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into a custodial death in Cheyyar police station of Tiruvannamalai district in September 1997.Justice M Karpagavinayagam also directed the State Government to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the wife of Mohan, the deceased, within two months, on a public interest petition filed by a law student, M Bhoopal, through the State Legal services Authority.According to the petitioner, Mohan was taken to Cheyyar police station on September 12, 1997, allegedly on the pretext that he was required for questioning in connection with a complaint by someone in the locality.The next day, Mohan's wife was informed by the police that her husband had committed suicide by consuming insecticide.The petitioner alleged that Mohan had been done away with by the police as he had stopped bootlegging. This had resulted in the stoppage of income (`mamool') received by police from the illicit arrack trade.Earlier, thepolice had allegedly made futile attempts to persuade Mohan to resume bootlegging.The judge held that from the records, it was not possible to conclude that the investigation into Mohan's death by the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CD-CID) of the State police had been conducted in a forthright manner.The judge said though the CB-CID had examined several witnesses, it had failed to go into the RDO'S inquest report, which had said the injuries on the victim's body were the result of torture.Justifying the need for referring the matter to the CBI, Justice Karpagavinayagam said whenever investigations by the State police lacked credibility, an investigation by the CBI was always necessary to instill confidence in the minds of the public.The judge said that normally, investigations should not be taken away from the hands of the State police, but in view of the glaring lapses in investigation by the State agency, the court had to order a CBI enquiry.The judge directed the CBI to fileits report, and the State Government to provide ten police personnel (four inspectors, four sub-inspectors, two constables) and two vehicles to assist the CBI in its investigations.Referring to the authorities' contention that the act was independent, the judge said the State could not ``evade the responsibility of making the payment.''The authorities' contention was that the CB-CID enquiry had revealed it to be a case of suicide. Besides, departmental action had been recommended against the concerned police personnel for failing to rush the victim to hospital, the State contended.
